Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Donald Trump: Like a petulant child

Donald Trump refused to participate in the last Iowa
debate among those running to become the GOP presidential candidate because he
did not like one of the moderators, Megyn Kelly of Fox News.

Trump's behavior is more like that of a petulant
child than the maturity of someone ready to become the leader of the world's
most powerful nation. The President of the US has to interact, repeatedly and
with at least a veneer of politeness, with many people whom the President may personally
dislike or whose views the President may find distasteful if not reprehensible.
The President, as Commander in Chief, also has direct authority over the world's
most powerful military and nuclear arsenal. A person campaigning for election
as President of the US, who sulkily refuses to participate in a debate because of
objections to one of the moderators, demonstrates a very disturbing lack of
emotional maturity and a frighteningly excessive degree of narcissism (believing
him or herself to be the center of the world).

After months on the campaign trail as the
self-proclaimed GOP front-runner, Trump's ignorance of the Constitution, economic
facts, and international affairs reflects a similar emotional immaturity. Contrary
to Trump, (1) prohibiting Muslims from entering the US would violate the Constitution's
ban against government discrimination based on religion; (2) unemployment in
the US is not in excess of 20% but at 5%; (3) the Kurds and the Iranian national
guards are not identical but are from different religions, ethnicities, and states.

Sometimes the President of the US would benefit
from having a dealmaker's skills. The job, however, calls for much more than making
deals. A President depends upon global respect to exert international influence.
A President needs vision to inspire and to lead domestically and
internationally. A President needs an extensive grasp of politics, economics,
military, national, and international affairs. Crises do not occur with
built-in time-outs for the President to get up to speed on a set of issues.
Debates that ask potential candidates to address tough issues, issues some
would prefer to avoid, offer opportunity to watch the candidates perform under
pressure. Candidates who refuse to take the time to learn about the issues convey
amateurism, an implicit lack of respect for the public, and appear to
substitute brash self-confidence for the depth and competence that the seriousness
and magnitude of the President's responsibilities require. Trump, for example, in
a press interview was unfamiliar with the US nuclear triad of ground, air, and
submarine capacity to launch strategic nuclear weapons.

The Presidency is not like Burger King: you cannot
have it your own way, Mr. Trump.